An Eternal Wish
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Claudine and Maya win their duet Revue against Karen and Hikari, but at what cost does this victory come?
1. Revue Of Tragedy

**This is an idea I'd wanted to toy with for a while now; essentially what might've happened if Maya and Claudine had been the winners of the duet revue instead of Karen and Hikari. It's basically a re-write of the anime ending, but with these two instead.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.**

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An Eternal Wish

Chapter 1. Revue Of Tragedy

The stage casts a radiant spotlight down over four armed girls.

They are armed not only with swords and knives, but also too with the burning passion for victory, for glory.

The passion to become the Top Star.

Claudine has to admit her heart had clenched just a little bit when Maya had been asked to choose her partner for this duet revue. Call it childish, but some minuscule part of her had truly feared Maya might not call out her name in that moment. If she had said any name other than hers, Claudine would have lost her will to fight altogether - perhaps indefinitely.

But the reality was, of course, that Maya had chosen her, tossed her that button without a second's worth of hesitation or uncertainty. Maya knew what she wanted. She knew _who_ she wanted.

And Claudine can't deny she wants it too.

So she fights with everything she has. For her own sake. And for Maya's.

She fights with all of the determination she's built up over the years, all of the passion and skill and grace she's honed and perfected throughout all of these secret revues.

It's now or never. If she doesn't prove herself tonight - if she doesn't win for Maya - then what will the whole point of it all have been?

They have to win here tonight. They must. If they don't, Claudine isn't sure what she'll do with herself.

She attacks Karen and Hikari with everything she has, as it's only fair to them for her not to hold back. She gives them her all, just as she gives it to Maya. She pours all of her energy into it, gracefully dangerous twists and jumps off the structures and staircases upon the stage.

Dancing. Leaping. Soaring.

She covers Maya's blind spots and relies on her to do the same, defending her with all her might, as if her life depends on it.

She slices at Karen's jacket with precision, but not quite enough speed, because she evades and jumps out of range. There's a rush of air from above, and Claudine looks up to see Hikari plummeting from the ledge far above her, dagger glinting in the light. Claudine tumbles out of the way just in time, ramming her shoulder in the process. But her jacket has been spared, and right now that's all that matters.

Her entire body is throbbing with little aches and pains, and there are a few scratches dripping blood, mainly on her hands and wrists. Her left cheek has a small nick as well, but the pain only fuels her.

She can't lose here. She won't.

Within seconds, she is back at Maya's side, turning their backs together as they fend off their opponents. It's clear Karen and Hikari have chosen to target Claudine, for while she may be almost equal in skill to Maya, the person in second place is always a bit easier to deal with than the one in first.

The clashing of metal echoes all throughout the stage and audience as their friends look on from above, anxious and unable to cheer for one pair or the other.

Unlike them, Claudine knows which pair she is rooting for.

She won't lose. _They_ won't lose. Not when they stand together.

As the intense fight continues, it goes unnoticed that only then does the gem within the handle of Claudine's sword begin to shimmer.

All the others' gems had shown before in their past revues, but never hers.

Only now, when she has chosen to think of Maya and herself as a team rather than rivals, does the black stone sparkle as brightly as her heart.

In this moment, they are not rivals.

They are equals. They are one.

As Karen charges her, Maya intervenes and parries. In the second her back is exposed, Hikari attempts to cut the string of Maya's jacket from behind, but Claudine lunges in to defend, forcing Hikari back enough to stagger her. Her message is clear:_ '__We will not lose.'_

Claudine doesn't hesitate, nor does she hold back. Now is not the time for mercy.

She charges Hikari when she's off balance, which may be unsightly and unchivalrous of her. But she doesn't care. Not with this much at stake. It's survival of the fittest.

Karen calls out her partner's name and tries to get to her, but Maya does her part and keeps Karen at bay. Claudine murmurs an apology as she brings her sword up, catching the tip on the string of Hikari's jacket. As she falls, Claudine pulls upward in contrast, and the thread snaps.

Claudine sees it in Hikari's eyes in that split second; that anguish and dismay in knowing she'd let Karen down. Claudine isn't so cruel as to pity her, though. She takes pride in her victory, as Hikari was one of the worthiest opponents she ever could have faced. Just before she hits the floor, Claudine reaches out with her left hand to grab her by the wrist, sparing her the physical pain, if not the emotional.

The spotlight goes out, only to reposition itself on center stage. The giraffe's voice echoes out:

"This concludes our duet revue."

Panting, Claudine helps Hikari to her feet, then lets her go. She doesn't apologize, because she knows Hikari doesn't want to hear it. Instead, she simply dips her head. Hikari does the same before turning to her partner.

"Karen… I'm sorry."

Karen sheathes her sword and approaches her, gently taking Hikari's hands in hers.

"It's all right, Hikari-chan. We did our best. We were _really_ close. Those two just had more shine than us. More Starlight…"

Hikari sighs, wrapping her arms around Karen's shoulders for a moment of solace and tranquility after all the fighting. Karen holds her, no doubt sad about their loss, but much happier that they'd gotten the opportunity to fight in such an impressive duet in the first place.

Likewise, Claudine retreats to her own partner.

Maya is just as ruffled as she is, but the light in her eyes is brighter than any fatigue could try to snuff out.

"You did it." Maya lifts her chin proudly.

Claudine snorts.

"_We_ did it, you idiot. There's no way I could have done it without you."

"My, my. What an admission."

"Quiet, you."

Both sheath their blades, and Maya reaches out to take Claudine's hand, covered in scratches. Her other hand travels up to hold Claudine's face where blood is smeared along her cheek.

"To think you would bleed for my sake."

"Don't be so dramatic." In spite of her words, however, Claudine leans into her touch. "I did it for the both of us."

"Indeed. It is thanks to you, _Ma Claudine,_ that we have won."

Claudine is possessed by both the urge to chide her and to kiss her.

But the chance for one or the other to win out is never provided.

Suddenly, there is a great rumbling as the stage beneath them begins to shift. Immediately, both girls draw their swords once again, pressing their backs together as a platform begins to raise them up.

"What is this-?"

But Claudine's question is cut off by a familiar deep voice.

"The last audition…" the giraffe bellows. "The "Revue of Tragedy" will now commence."

With a gasp, Claudine looks up to the top of the curtains, through the dozens upon dozes of red metal spires, at the top of which a harsh scarlet light filters down. Maya's eyes are trained there as well, but she is eerily silent. The giraffe continues.

"Let us compete in song and dance, and aim to become the Top Star. After all…" His voice deepens now, almost like a threat. "Only _one_ of you can claim such a victory."

The light from above them burns hot, showering them both in a deep crimson. Claudine's chest is tight, and her heart is pounding.

"What is the meaning of this? Maya-" She tries to reach for Maya's hand. But to her despair, Maya pulls away. She bows her head, her eyes now covered in shadows.

"I knew it…" she sighs. "Surely enough, only one of us can pass this audition." When she does finally lift her face for Claudine to see, Maya's violet eyes are stern, unwavering. "We cannot _both_ become Top Star, _Ma Claudine_. That is the truth of this tragedy."

Claudine takes a step back, but her boot nearly slips off the edge. That nauseating sense of almost-falling slithers up her spine and seizes her heart.

"Wh… What are you saying? Tendo Maya-"

Maya's grip tightens on her sword.

"_Merci, Ma Claudine._" Her voice is dull. Despondent. Claudine doesn't believe her words of thanks are genuine for a second. She has nothing but horror to give back to that soul-less stare.

Maya continues.

"I never could have gotten this far without you to push me forward. You kept me on my toes, made me strive to remain one step ahead of you. Without you as my rival and my partner, I never would have surpassed my limits. It's all thanks to you, _Ma Claudine._"

"Stop it! What are you saying? What's going on here?!"

Maya persists as if she hadn't heard her at all.

"You were the light that guided me to the very top of this stage. And as such, I cannot allow your 'shine' to be stolen away by it." Maya takes one step closer to her, and Claudine stiffens, unable to retreat due to the edge dragging at her heels. Maya leans in close, brushing her cheek against Claudine's bloodied one, until her breath dances at her ear.

"I cannot allow it," she repeats. "For, you see, I love you far too much, _Ma Claudine._"

"Wh-" Claudine chokes on her own voice as her breath gets tangled in the back of her throat.

It hurts. After their short-lived victory, this is all so confusing and terrifying. Maya isn't herself. Claudine isn't sure if she can believe those words. She wants nothing more than to trust her, but-

"That's why-"

And then, with one sharp slice of her sword, Maya cuts her partner's jacket clean off.

The gentle force of the motion is enough to topple Claudine back over the edge. The platform falls away from beneath her, and the ground begins to rush up at her. She succumbs to gravity, leaving tears in the air behind her.

The last thing she sees is Maya's smile, illuminated by that burning red light.

"-this is farewell,_ Ma Claudine._"

And she falls, down into the deep darkness below, leaving Maya standing all alone at the top with that forlorn smile on her face, as the light of that dreadful red tiara swallows her whole.

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**A/N: I suffered enough when we had to watch Hikari 'betray' Karen, but could you _imagine_ if it had been Maya and Claudine?**

**Please review!**


	2. Vacancy

**Oh man, after reading all of your in-depth comments to chapter 1, I think I realized I made a huge mistake... All I did was copy the anime, I didn't really write anything original or special... it's just Mayakuro instead of Hikaren. That's all ;~; I hope you can still enjoy it anyway, even if it might not meet your expectations...**

**Just kind of assume that Maya sensed something was off with the revues and decided she needed to 'betray' Claudine in order to save her... That she somehow knew that winning was going to be a bad thing and so she made a snap decision.**

**For this chapter, I followed episode 11 as best I could and tried to figure out a good pace.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.**

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Chapter 2. Vacancy

Those strange underground revues have always been just odd enough to border the lines of fantasy and reality.

Claudine had never truthfully been sure if they were really happening, or if it was all just a collective dream somehow.

After all, how could a giraffe speak? How could students be allowed to handle weapons and fight one another beneath the school? It was ridiculous. Outlandish. Impossible. Unheard of.

It _had_ to have all been a dream…

But in the days that follow, Claudine wakes in her room to an empty bed, and an even hollower emptiness in her heart.

She ventures to Maya's room to find it completely barren; no sheets on the mattress, no books on the shelves, no personal belongings anywhere. Not a trace left of her.

It's as if she'd never been there in the first place. As if she'd never even existed at all.

The only real proof Claudine has is an unspeakable ache in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.

That, and the blue ribbon she'd woken with in her hand on that very first morning without her.

She has no idea how it had come into her possession, but she never lets go of it. She takes that ribbon with her wherever she goes, and the same pain follows her, constantly clawing away at her from the inside, tearing her apart piece by piece.

When she asks the others about Maya's whereabouts, all they can do is shake their heads and sigh, having already searched all they could.

Claudine tries calling her, but always receives the message that the other number is no longer available.

She restlessly scours the entire property of Seishou for any sort of clue. But she doesn't find a single thing. Every desk and locker and space that had used to be Maya's are now vacant.

She even goes so far as to contact the school authorities to demand answers, showing them Maya's ribbon in hopes to jog some memories. But all they tell her is that there had been a transfer request put in for the former student known as Tendo Maya.

The way they word it makes it sound as though the request had been put in _for_ her, not _by_ her.

When Claudine inquires about details, the officials reveal they can't disclose such private information.

But Claudine manages to glimpse one of the papers herself. Any information about Maya's intended or supposed current location has been blacked out, unreadable.

It's clear to her the adults aren't going to help her with this. Or rather, they can't.

So Claudine strikes out on her own with her search, diligently attending all of her classes by day and searching for answers by night. She can't sleep without her anyway.

She asks everyone in the school, and after a week has passed and she still has no concrete answers, she begins to go around town asking people.

But it's always the same answer. They don't know anything about the whereabouts of Tendo Maya.

Another week passes.

.

And then a month.

.

Then two months.

.

And three.

.

And in all that time, not hers nor anyone else's cell phone ring with that familiar jingle.

They aren't made to attend any more secret auditions or revues. They aren't made to fight for the position of Top Star anymore. Maya's sacrifice had spared them. Somehow, they all know it now.

In the few miserable hours Claudine retreats to her own room at night, she curls up in her bed and weeps, clutching at the ribbon and the gaping emptiness inside her chest. Some nights she goes to Maya's barren room and sits on the floor or bed and just remembers her. How infuriating she'd been, how stubborn, how beautiful…

She remembers the look in her eyes when Maya had pushed her off the stage, having come to some dreaded realization about those revues that the rest of them hadn't understood until it had been far too late.

It's a look Claudine will never forget.

That calm, terrified smile, those forsaken eyes…

Wherever she'd gone, it hadn't been anyplace good, and it hadn't been for any good reasons. Of that, Claudine is certain.

There's no doubt in her mind that Maya had saved Claudine by pushing her away that day, that she'd sensed some unimaginable danger in that victory and accepted it for herself to keep Claudine safe.

Maya had chosen her sentence. For her sake. Claudine knows it. That tiara is a crown no one should have to wear.

Claudine won't stop until she finds her - until she gets _her_ Maya back.

. . .

When she is four months in of her arduous search for answers, Claudine begins to wear Maya's blue ribbon herself, in the same spot in the back of her hair.

Even by the fifth month, Claudine doesn't stop, or even slow down. She continues attending her classes, asking people about Maya, scouring the town, all while suffering alone through every sleepless night.

She can only take so much. The exhaustion consumes her, and her desperation drains her. Her friends begin to worry more about her than Maya.

Claudine hates it. She doesn't want them to forget Maya. She won't let them.

But even if every other person on the planet is to forget about Maya, Claudine will never stop searching. Even if it means dedicating her entire life to it.

Her phone screen is constantly clogged with countless unanswered messages to Maya, things like "Where are you?" "You'd better answer me, Tendo Maya." "This isn't funny…" "Please say something…" "I'm still waiting..."

The days grow shorter, and the nights longer. Meaning there is less daylight for her to search by, and more of the darker hours she must spend alone in her torment.

The only thing that ever allows her a wink of sleep is to hold that blue ribbon delicately in her hands, to kiss it sweetly and hold it against her heart, praying beyond hope that wherever she is, Maya can feel her.

Maya.

Maya.

_Her_ Maya.

Who had sacrificed herself all so she wouldn't have to take away Claudine's radiance, her shine.

"Where are you…?"

Claudine breathes out a helpless whisper into the night.

But there is no response.

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Nearly six months without Maya have passed now, and Claudine hasn't been the same since.

She isn't as lively, isn't as personable, isn't as present as she'd used to be. Not even around her friends.

And she never smiles anymore.

Not when they bring her to movie night.

Not when they save her favorite pudding or make her favorite snacks.

Not when they praise her for her outstanding performances, songs, and dances.

The end of the year is approaching quickly now that time doesn't matter to her anymore. Their next performance of Starlight will come soon, and they'll have to begin auditions and practice rehearsals.

Everyone says Claudine should audition for the part of Flora or Claire, that she'll get whichever one she wants.

But she doesn't intend to audition for either. She refuses to play either of those roles if Maya can't be her counterpart. It's selfish of her, and she knows that.

She takes no pride whatsoever in becoming Seishou's top student now that Maya is gone. She'd never wanted to achieve the throne like this.

She just wants her back. More than anything…

. . .

It's another sleepless evening alone in her room, with that blue ribbon cradled in her hands, when Claudine considers something that hadn't dawned on her in the past half-year.

At this hour, she hasn't even changed out of her school uniform yet, since she hasn't managed to find the energy for such a task. She's curled up in bed in her skirt and blazer, vision blurring. The agony hasn't faded with time. It's still as poignant as it had been that first night.

As she strokes her thumb over the worn fabrics of the ribbon, a certain book catches her eye. It's the book of Starlight, of Flora and Claire, given to her by Nana so many moons ago.

Claudine isn't quite sure what it is that compels her to reach for it. But the ends of the ribbon have guided her vision to it. Of that she's certain.

So she takes the book from her desk and opens it beneath the lamplight to slowly begin reading.

She's read it no fewer than a hundred times before, and essentially knows the story and play by heart now. Reading of Flora and Claire's plight hits too close to home, and before she knows it tears are spilling down onto the pages, smearing the text. As pitiful as her voice sounds, wobbling and choked, Claudine unknowingly begins to read a portion out loud.

"Flora, whose eyes had been scorched by the Star's shine, fell from the Tower... Left alone, Claire was imprisoned in the Tower of Starlight Gathering. She became the new prisoner to atone for the sins of the goddesses she had freed…"

A pang. Just a tiny twinge like a shooting star goes through her heart in that instant.

"Imprisoned…"

Claudine shakes her head and wipes her eyes. In all of the "Starlights" they've known until now, Flora had fallen from the Tower, and she and Claire had been separated for eternity. She doesn't remember Claire being made into a prisoner. The script and directing she'd always known had been slightly different.

_Imprisoned_.

She can't seem to take her eyes off of that word in particular. The red spires of the tower from their final duet revue flash in her mind.

The tower.

"No…"

Claudine's voice slips out. Her hand closes - shaking - around the ribbon.

The tower.

The tiara.

That scared, lonely smile-

"It can't be…"

_Imprisoned_.

Claudine throws herself out of bed so quickly she nearly collapses. It's the fastest and sharpest she's moved in weeks, and with the most energy. Suddenly, all of the hollow ache inside of her is numbed as the adrenaline burns her into motion.

She steps into her shoes and runs for the door, throwing it open, tying the ribbon into her hair, and never stopping all the while.

She runs.

The hallways are empty at this hour of the night. She runs as quickly and as hard as she can. Faster than she's moved in these past six months combined. Faster than she should be able to.

All of the hurt and hunger and exhaustion is forgotten now as she follows the first and only lead she's discovered in all this time.

She stumbles and nearly falls several times, but she doesn't stop.

She runs straight out of the dorms and all the way back to the school building, past the security guard who doesn't dare try to stop her.

She runs through the doors and never stops. Down flights of stairs, around corners, all along the corridors - she runs.

Until she reaches that elevator, the one that would take them to their revues.

It has been out of commission since Maya's disappearance. There is a wall covering it now, as if the elevator itself never existed. The light doesn't come on, not even in her presence.

She can't catch her breath quickly enough, and a terrible throbbing fills her body, stemming from her very core. It pounds in her veins - burning.

But that doesn't stop her. Nothing will.

Maya had chosen a stage where her own sacrifice would mean the others could be free. She had chosen her sin, and how to atone for it.

But Claudine can't accept that.

She finds a crowbar in an open closet and thrusts it against the wall where she knows the elevator to be beneath, scraping the metal and creating a dent. But it isn't enough.

Claudine strikes it again. And again. Hacking away at the entrance concealing that prison.

"Like hell…" she pants, slamming the wall once again. "Like hell-! I'm ever going to accept such a performance!"

Her voice echoes in anguish down the deserted hallway as she continues to slam against the wall. The sounds of her strikes fill the whole building - the sounds of desperation, fueled by an unbridled, furious, devastated passion.

"A stage…" she grunts. "-where you are the sacrifice-"

She rams the crowbar again. And again. Her hands are dirtied with rust and several small cuts now. Blood smears across her palms, making her grasp slip, but she doesn't stop. She rams the wall again, widening the dent.

"That- may have been the stage… _you_ chose-"

Again.

_Again_.

The dent splits apart.

"But that isn't _our_ stage-! _Tendo Maya!_"

The crowbar begins to splinter, and droplets of blood fall to the floor.

"That isn't _our_ "Starlight!""

She raises her arms high above her head, preparing to pour the very last shreds of her strength into one final blow.

And then the red light flickers on.

All of the bulbs in the building flash, and when Claudine next blinks, the wall blocking the elevator has vanished.

With a frantic cry, Claudine brings down her weapon, lodging the end of it right between the two doors. She pushes, struggling to maintain her grip past the wetness of sweat and blood. She drives all of her strength into it, all of her weight, all of her being.

She _will_ get to her. Nothing can stop her.

And finally the elevator doors scrape open. The crowbar snaps in her hands as she falls forward with a gasp, feeling the metal cut deeper into her skin. Claudine staggers inside, slumping against the wall, frazzled and wheezing for air.

But what lies before her aren't the empty four walls of an elevator. This time it's different.

Stairs.

A seemingly endless path of stairs stretches out before her into a dark basement, as if leading down to hell itself. If her theory of where Maya is right now is true, "hell" wouldn't be too far-fetched of a description.

Claudine pauses just for a second to catch her breath, wiping her hands onto her skirt.

She isn't scared. Not one bit. Not of the unknown path before her, anyway. The only thing she's scared of right now is the possibility of never seeing Maya again.

Something pushes at her back and pulls at her from the front, as if begging her to go. Claudine inhales one last time before straightening up.

"I know. I'm coming."

She takes a step forward onto that first stair.

"I'm sorry it took me this long."

She stands at the top now, gazing down into the darkness.

"Don't worry. I'm here now."

The doors begin to creak behind her. Claudine doesn't look back.

"I'm coming for you now… Tendo Maya!"

And she takes off running down those stairs with that blue ribbon at her back.

The doors slam closed behind her.

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**A/N: It was a fun little challenge to record the events of the episode that originally centered around Karen and turn it into Claudine instead. As you can imagine, there were quite a few things that needed to change, but I really enjoyed it! And since Karen had the photo of Hikari and her hair pin to remember her by, I wanted to give Claudine something from Maya, hence the ribbon.**

**Again, I know it's probably not as unique as you guys were hoping for... I might've screwed this one up. I probably should've taken it one step further...**

**Please review!**


	3. The Atonement Of Sins

**This is a bit of a short chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.**

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Chapter 3. The Atonement Of Sins

The pink desert stretches on farther than Maya's vision can ever hope to see.

When she'd first opened her eyes and found herself in this place, she'd thought the sand was pretty. Her clothes had been transformed into a simple white dress to combat the heat. But to her surprise, it wasn't as hot as she'd anticipated.

Rather, it's actually cold here.

The winds whip at her legs and arms which are exposed to the elements. Particles of hard sand and stone constantly cut at her skin, embedding themselves into her bare feet.

She walks, not knowing where to, but knowing she _must_ go. A familiar script repeats itself in her mind and comes out in her voice.

"Let's meet here again next year, on the night of the Starlight Festival…"

She looks on ahead as she continues to walk across the barren pink wasteland.

"Starlight…"

Until she finally spots a tower, stark and white like bone, with two droplets of blood dangling above it.

"Being drawn by the light of the star."

That's what they are. Not drops of blood, but stars. It's their crimson color that tricks her. They shine brightly enough in their haunting glow that the haze encompasses the entire desert. They are what dyes the white sand pink.

She'd used to think it was pretty…

But now…

Maya has no choice but to walk toward that tower. It entices her, lures her with its eerie light.

She has no choice but to go. After all, this is the punishment she'd chosen for herself. So she could spare the others of their sins.

As she approaches the tower, drawn in by its terrifying beauty, her eyes glimpse small objects in the sand.

Stars. Once white, they've now been stained by that blood-red glow and turned pink like the sand.

Maya kneels and digs one out, then takes it with her.

"Who are you? I can't remember."

The words come to her without any thought for them, without any effort. The script of Starlight flows through her until it is no longer a script for a play, but rather, her reality.

This is who she is now. A slave to the stage, mindless and full of sin. A martyr.

She digs up another star, and another, then begins to stack them together beside the white tower. Her lips continue to produce limp, lifeless words.

"If you catch a small star, you've obtained a small bit of happiness."

She picks up another, and another, piling them all together to form a small tower of her own.

"If you catch a large star, you've obtained a large fortune."

She builds that tower of Starlight until it climbs high, halfway up the white tower. Now, each star she finds she carries with her as she climbs, adds it to the top, then climbs back down and repeats.

"If you catch both of them, you've caught an eternal wish."

The harsh winds continue slicing at her back, flaying pebbles of sand at her as the edges of the stars bruise her skin.

She builds her tower higher and higher, until she has nearly reached the top of the other. She sits in her bed of crimson stars and gazes up at the white above her, at the two red stars that dangle there. Watching, waiting.

She must catch them, both that small and large wish.

So she climbs back down, picks up yet another star, and ascends once again, the words of Starlight filling her head endlessly.

She must obtain those stars in order to have an eternal wish. Her wish would be to be free of this place.

When she has built her tower so that it nears the height of the other, she kneels on her bed of stars and gazes longingly up to those two in the sky. She reaches up her hands, pretending as though she can grasp them from here, even when she is still so far away…

But she's closer than she'd been just one star earlier.

She must obtain her wish and be free.

She must go back…

Back… to where? To whom...?

It's then when the jarring rattle of chains breaks the sky.

She doesn't know where it's coming from or how, but she sees it. A giant wrecking ball in the shape of a star is hurled towards her. A meteor.

It collides with her tower, an impact of terrifying power. It breaks her hard-built creation with ease, shatters all of her efforts to dust, and sends her far into the air like a falling star. For a moment, she is suspended looking at the sky.

"I remembered… Our dream will not come true."

She falls for an eternity until the hard sand catches her. Her tower rains down in pieces all around her and crumbles.

"My dream… will not come true…"

Her dream. Her wish. What was it again?

To… be free?

But how? If she is free, who will atone for their sins?

…Whose sins? She can't remember.

All she knows is she'd come here to atone for something.

She has to keep atoning. She has to.

So she gets up, swaying against the cold dry winds, and begins anew on her tower, gathering up the broken pieces. She rebuilds, climbs, ascends.

And then that chain comes down again, smashing it all to pieces. Her dreams explode right in front of her, and collapse right beneath her.

She falls again, already covered in scrapes and cuts and bruises. She feels the pain, but somehow it doesn't hurt.

She gets up again, and continues her task.

The script begins to blur in her mind. She can't recall the names anymore. But she understands that falling from that tower means being separated forever.

From who? She can't remember anymore.

All she can tell is that it was someone precious to her.

So she has to keep rebuilding. She has to keep trying to reach them, to reach that eternal wish…

And so it goes, the cruel fate of the one who had achieved Top Star and sacrificed herself to the stage.

So it goes.

An eternity of suffering for one who strives to obtain an eternal wish.

* * *

**A/N: Don't worry, the final chapter is much, much longer and more intense!**

**Please review!**


	4. Grasping Stars

**Okay, so I decided not to re-write literally the _entirety_ of the final 2 episodes (cuz holy moley), so as you'll see I sort of just brush over the scene where all the other girls reminisced and guided Karen (in this case Claudine) down the staircase. It was just too much to record and describe, and it isn't all that important in this retelling anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.**

* * *

Chapter 4. Grasping Stars

Claudine nearly trips several times in the darkness as she descends. Far ahead, she can see a light shining upon a familiar stage. She never seems to get any closer to it, though.

Eventually, she is forced to walk. As she slows down, she realizes it isn't _complete_ darkness all around her. When she looks to either side, she glimpses memories, almost like footage playing back in a film.

Karen, Hikari, Futaba…

All of them in their revues, their songs, their stories. Things they'd told her long ago come echoing back to her now.

"We are Stage Girls," Nana's voice reminds her. "We can be reborn as many times as necessary."

"We'll keep on fighting," Futaba's voice says. "We won't stop. Not until we've reached our dreams."

"We have an unshakable bond to the stage," Hikari's voice declares. "We are all connected."

Claudine sees them all, in various memories, both on the stage and off. They're in their classrooms, in their dance studio, in their rooms having movie nights.

All but one person.

A soft voice calls out to her.

"Kuro-chan."

Claudine whirls around to find herself facing a projection of Karen. She smiles.

"Go and get her. Please bring Tendo-san back to us."

Claudine's eyes go wide just for a moment before she puffs out her chest and scoffs.

_"Bien sûr,"_ she replies. "But of course."

Claudine turns away from the rest of them, and their images softly fade away. She turns back to the stage ahead and struts slowly forward.

"We are rivals, she and I. We are inseparable."

Her footsteps echo behind her, and now she finally nears the stage. There are two things visible there.

The first is a familiar cell phone lying near the center of the stage. As Claudine walks on and draws closer, she recognizes it right away. Her heart clenches, and her hands rise up to cover her mouth to keep back a sob.

The screen is opened to reveal _hundreds_ of messages - from the others, and from Claudine herself. Compiled over half a year. All unread and unanswered.

Claudine sobs softly, but it doesn't shake her resolve.

The other object on the stage is much larger, a door of sorts, a dark entryway caving in from a standing white structure. The image of two twinkling red stars is engraved above the doorway.

Claudine steels herself and steps forward. She's made her wait long enough.

Familiar phrases come to her lips, a script she'd written herself and committed to memory some time ago.

"Everyone has an equal chance to shine…"

She strides across that stage, passing by the lone cell phone.

"So through the dance of love, I shall burn more passionately, and soar on freedom's wings higher than anyone else."

She heads straight for that door, that haunting darkness. Her voice - like her conviction - doesn't waver.

"I am the second-ranked student of the 99th class - Saijou Claudine! _C'est moi, la star!"_

The shine that Maya had refrained from taking from her. The shine she had _refused_ to take from her. The shine she had sacrificed herself for in order for it to keep on blazing. That shine is what guides Claudine through the darkness now.

"I shall recover her!" she proclaims. "Head of the 99th class, Tendo Maya! I shall take her back, and together we shall show the stage an unmatched, incomparable radiance, the likes of which no one has ever seen before!"

She blinks, and the darkness that swallows her is gone.

Now, a stark, barren desert extends all around her on all sides.

The sky above is a deep, piercing blue, so intense it pains her eyes to look. The sand surrounding her is dry and hard, strangely pink in color. But when she looks closely, she can see something there. A few things, actually.

Red stars protrude from the sand at all angles, as if they had once been unearthed, cast about, and then buried again by the winds. They are everywhere, crusted into the desert itself.

And then, something else comes into her line of vision.

Imprints in the sand.

A trail. A path. Footsteps.

Someone had come before her.

There is no hesitation in Claudine's heart. Only the strongest, most immovable, most unflagging resolve.

She sets out on her journey to follow that path, yet uncovered by the sands of this place, almost as if she'd been meant to find it, even after all this time.

She doesn't know how much time has passed in this place - if it's been six months or six years.

But it doesn't matter. Because whatever this is, it ends today.

She follows those footprints, and it's clear to her by the shape and imprint that they were made by bare feet. Claudine's uniform shoes leave a different mark, one much less vulnerable. She trudges across the wasteland, much less bothered by the elements as her predecessor must have been.

She can't be certain how long she travels for, but eventually her body begins to feel the ache of her journey. Her breath comes harder and shallower, her shoes almost seeming to sink deeper and deeper with every step. The winds try to push her back, knocking particles of sand and broken stone against the bloody cuts in her hands. Her eyes water and sting, and her chest burns with a dull throbbing.

But she persists. She'll keep going, no matter the cost. She won't stop until she's found her and brought her home.

She persists. Farther and farther. Over dune after dune, following those footprints like a guidepost. In spite of all that tries to keep her at bay, she _persists_.

And finally, standing at the ridge of the next sand dune, she is able to see something out in the distance.

A thin white tower stands there, warped by the haze of the wind and sand. But it's the most genuine structure she's seen since arriving here. And her trail leads straight to it.

So Claudine follows. She follows, ignoring every vision of oasis that tries to lead her astray.

She persists.

Until that tower grows larger with proximity.

Now she can see it isn't the only tower. There is also one of red, much smaller, as though still in construction. It is ragged and worn, and only upon closer scrutiny can she discern it is made from the stars she's been seeing in the sand. It's still being built. By-

Claudine's heart seizes.

She sees her now, hunched over in the sand, covered by nothing more than a thin white dress. Her skin is littered with cuts and scrapes, so arid from this place that another gust of wind could probably make her bleed all by itself.

Claudine had been certain that as soon as she'd seen her after all this time, she would run to Maya and call out to her, throw her arms around her and bring her back home, even if it meant dragging her.

But now, she can't seem to bring herself to do any of those things.

Something is telling her it isn't going to be that simple.

Maya's back is to her, and even as Claudine approaches, she doesn't turn around. She merely continues digging in the sand, unearthing yet another star. She gathers it into her bruised hands and heaves it into her lap. Claudine can tell it's far too heavy for her.

Claudine had had six long months to plan out all the things she'd wanted to say to Tendo Maya if she ever saw her again. Half a year's worth of writing and rewriting that script in her mind. She has no fewer than a million things she wishes to say to her right now.

But somehow, they all evaporate like dewdrops in this desert, until only two words remain.

"I'm sorry."

Still, Maya doesn't move nor turn her head. Claudine wishes she could glimpse her face, her eyes, anything. She tightens her hands into fists at the ends of her skirt, unfazed by the pain it causes her fingers. She knows Maya has suffered much greater pains.

"I'm sorry… Maya," she murmurs. "I didn't understand. You did this… you made this grand sacrifice in order not to take away my shine, nor anyone else's." She takes a step forward and reaches out her hand. "But that's over now. You can come-"

"Who are you?"

Claudine freezes in spite of the desert heat all around her. Her heart feels as though it's been split open by some sharp spike and left to bleed.

"…Eh…?"

She can't breathe. Suddenly it feels as though there are invisible talons gripping her throat, her chest.

Maya is blind to her plight and her suffering. She cradles the star in her lap and recites.

"I don't understand. Your voice, your warmth… The promise I made to you…"

She staggers to her feet beneath the weight of her burden, then finally turns around. Her eyes are dull, without any sparkle or light. She begins to walk toward Claudine-

"I can recall that it was something important…"

-and she walks past her, without so much as a second glance.

"But I don't remember what it was."

Maya passes her by, and for a split second Claudine can almost feel her warmth again - that warmth she's been missing for so terribly long. She recognizes those words, this script.

And she understands. She has a part to play in this, too.

Maya limps past her with her star, drawn by that white tower like a moth to the flame. Claudine whirls around, blurting out an accompanying line.

"Maybe we can get it back! Tonight, at the Star Festival which happens once a year… if I can take hold of that star…" She tries to swallow, but it doesn't go down. "Your memories may come back as well…" Her heart is crying out, but she keeps her voice steady. "Let's go. Together, we will grasp that star… Tendo Maya."

Maya stops on her way to the tower. Claudine waits - _prays_ -for her to turn back to her again.

But after a moment, Maya continues onward, her voice mechanically repeating those lines.

"Tonight, at the Star Festival which happens once a year… if I can take hold of that star… Your memories may come back as well…"

Maya keeps going. Claudine realizes she doesn't plan to come back. So she gives chase.

"Wait! Tendo Maya!" She hurries after her, following her to that tower of red stars. Only now does it register who had built it with her own two hands. Maya continues the play:

"If I can grasp them both, I can obtain an eternal wish…"

Holding the star beneath one arm, she begins to climb. Claudine reaches out to stop her, but can't risk loosening the stars constructing the tower. So she follows her up to the top, heaving herself over the rim. Maya kneels there at the center and gently places her star onto the pile, making the tower just an inch taller.

"Grasping the Star means forgiveness of your sins…"

Claudine can't take it anymore. She crawls over to Maya and stops right in front of her.

"What sins?" she demands. "No one has committed any sins! None of us! Wanting to achieve the position of Top Star is no sin! Wanting to grasp an enteral wish is no sin! You've nothing to atone for, Tendo Maya!"

Maya blinks, lifting her hands to gaze down at them.

"Grasping the Star is a miracle of the night…"

Claudine chokes back a sob. This isn't the Tendo Maya she knows. This isn't _her_ Maya.

She inches closer to her, reaching out to take both of her hands, swollen and abused by this never-ending play. She runs her fingers gently over the calloused skin. Her hands begin to tremble.

"Enough," she whispers, voice laden in earnest. "You've done enough. This is _enough_, Maya. It's time to come-"

But Maya lifts her hands out of hers and instead raises them to the sky, to the two red stars blazing up above.

"Please take this… the Star you have longed for…"

Claudine looks up to the massive red stars, held up by endless chains. Her eyes widen.

"Grasping the Star…?"

The chains begin to sway.

"A Star… of sin…?"

An explosion.

The stars Maya has striven to reach come crashing down into the tower she'd built with her own two hands. The whole structure shudders and cracks, splintering beneath them as dust and debris blast in their faces. Claudine uses the last of her footing to jump towards her.

"_Maya!_"

The impact tosses them both high into the air, surrounded by the red fragments of Maya's dream. Claudine strains for her, wincing past the searing pain in her body, the blinding sting in her eyes. She reaches for her hand-

But just before she can touch her, a gust of sand and wind swallows Maya whole. It billows all around her, stealing her away.

Claudine has no choice but to prepare for the landing. She curls herself up, crossing her arms in front of her face as pieces of stone whip against her body. She crashes into the sand, sending up more plumes of sand and dust. It chokes her, filling her eyes, her nose, and her lungs. She coughs with her entire body, until it hurts, expelling the grains of sand back into the desert.

It feels like a year has passed before she can find the strength and breath to push herself up, though she can only manage to sit. Her body is covered in even more scrapes and bruises now, and her hands have started bleeding again. She searches frantically for Maya, and finds her lying on her back, gazing lifelessly up at the sky. Maya's voice comes robotically.

"Our dream will not come to be."

Claudine grits her teeth, spitting out more sand. Slowly, she crawls toward Maya, lying there like an angel without her wings. Claudine coughs, then stops beside her, her eyes filled with sorrow. But she won't allow it.

"I won't allow it." That sorrow melts with her words, transforming instead into something more defiant. "_This_… is your stage of fate, Tendo Maya? You're giving the shine for all of us, all on your own? Just because you're Top Star? I won't allow it."

Once more, she reaches for Maya's hand. Tears fall freely from her eyes and stain the dust. She reaches for her-

But again, just before she can make contact, Maya pushes herself up, away from her outstretched fingers. She continues reciting her script.

"There is a small village, where the Star Festival is held, where a shooting star falls once a year…" She turns away from Claudine and begins digging in the sand, scratching away until she locates a star.

Claudine watches her, eyes brimming with tears. She shakes her head slowly, unsure of what else she can do.

"You… insufferable woman…" She lifts herself up onto her knees and folds her arms around Maya's shoulders and neck, pressing up softly against her back. "I said that's enough."

She feels Maya flinch.

"Your voice. Your warmth… I remember them…"

"Stop it with that script," she murmurs. "You _do_ remember me, don't you? Your one and only Flora. The only one who can accompany you…" Claudine locks her arms more tightly around Maya's collar. "I am the only one who can stand at your side, am I not? So why…? Why were you all alone here?"

For the first time, Maya doesn't respond with a line from the play. She doesn't reply at all.

Claudine doesn't let her go.

"No matter. That's over now. You aren't alone anymore, Tendo Maya. You've got me. You always have, and you always will."

A silent wind blows, lifting their hair. The ribbon of the blue bow in Claudine's curls flows up and touches Maya's shoulder. Claudine buries her face into the side of Maya's neck, her heart pounding hard against her back.

"Do you remember, Tendo Maya? That first day we met? When I asked you to stretch with me…?"

Maya's only response is to let go of the star in her lap. Instead, she reaches her hands out to cup the sand into her palms. She watches it fall from between her fingers. Claudine holds her tighter.

"Let's go back, Maya. Our "Starlight" hasn't started yet. We need you…_ I_ need you."

"You fool."

"Eh?" The next thing Claudine knows, she's on her knees and her arms are empty.

Maya rises to her feet and turns to face her, the star and sand now fallen from her lap. Her lifeless gaze is gone.

Now, she looks down at Claudine with tormented eyes, full of anguish and love.

"You fool…_ Ma Claudine_… why have you come here?"

It's the first time she's spoken out-of-script.

Claudine exhales, steeling herself. She staggers to her feet and stands just a few feet away from her now, facing her with a calmness so forced it betrays the tumult of emotions inside of her.

"I came to bring you back."

Maya falters, as if struck by some invisible force. She shakes her head, and tears drip freely now. But when she next looks up at her, the light has returned to her eyes. She is smiling.

"You fool… if you come to see me, I shall start to miss you, right?"

"Maya…" Claudine wipes her eyes. "That's right. I've missed you. More than you can _possibly_ imagine! _Mechante_… _va!_ Let's go home, you _insufferable_ woman-"

But the air is split by a booming crack. The white tower behind Maya suddenly fractures, deep black cracks snaking all around it. It shudders and begins to collapse. A tall, familiar figure stands in the pink dust.

"Your lines have stopped…" the giraffe says. "The performance has ended."

"Shut up!" Claudine shouts, throwing her arm out defensively to cover her. "You've kept her long enough! Tendo Maya is guilty of no sin! She is not a prisoner to this stage!"

Claudine makes an effort to reach for her partner, but the sand suddenly falls away from beneath them both, as if a giant hour glass has been flipped. All that supports her now is a platform.

Maya is left standing far away from her, across a gaping chasm. The Top Star Tiara encircles the small circular platform upon where she stands. Maya bows her head sadly.

"Just like the star which Claire and Flora sought, this tiara has no meaning. Its only purpose is to entice new sinners onto the stage."

"_Bullshit!_" Claudine barks, enraged and terrified. "There are no 'sinners'! We Stage Girls have committed no crimes!"

The platform beneath Maya begins to sink down into the darkness, taking her away. Claudine teeters at the tip of her own ledge, pacing in desperation. She can't lose her. Not again. Her tears fall down into the perpetual depths below.

"Stop! Don't you _dare_ take her from me again!"

But Maya continues to be pulled down, bathed in that red glow.

"I'm sorry, _Ma Claudine_. I never meant to make you cry."

"Then stop!" she wails. "Don't go!"

But Maya only bows her head again.

"Farewell… _Ma Claudine_…"

And the darkness swallows her whole.

. . .

. .

.

"Like hell…"

Claudine retreats down the ledge as far as she can, then turns back around.

"Like hell…"

She kicks off running back along the platform, aiming straight for the edge.

"Like _hell_ I'm letting you go, you idiot!"

She leaps, fearing the possibility of losing Maya far more than she fears the harrowing weightlessness of falling. She follows that flickering light down into the darkness.

"Don't you remember?" she shouts. "I am the only one who can keep up with you! The only one who can accompany you! The only one who can stand beside you!"

The air blasts up at her, but she only shouts louder.

"I am the only one who can rival you! Your one and only equal! Second-ranked student of the 99th class: _Saijou Claudine!_"

She falls, but she can see the bottom now.

Claudine rights her posture and lands on that familiar stage. Her clothes have changed into an outfit she knows all too well. The dull gray of her school uniform has been replaced by navy blues and whites. A red jacket hangs at her left shoulder, and a sword waits readily at her hip.

A steady flow of pink sand falls from above, like a tower sprinkling downward in fragments, drawing her eyes forward. Maya stands there with the Tiara at her feet. She unties the white dress from her shoulders, and when Claudine next blinks, she is dressed in her respective attire. The clothes of her revue costume cover most of the cuts and bruises now. Maya draws her sword, but there is no shine in its gem.

"This is the sinner's stage," she utters. "A stage where I may continue performing all on my own. So I shall not steal your shine, nor anyone else's."

Claudine, too, draws her weapon now. Her sword's gem had been the last of their group's to sparkle. And it had only done so because of Maya, when Claudine had finally decided she was going to best _everyone_, not just her.

Now her gem shines, but Maya's is dull.

"No one asked for such a stage," Claudine says firmly. "You're being selfish, Tendo Maya."

"Is that not my reward for achieving Top Star?" she asks. "I must have something, after all."

"You truly are an infuriating woman."

The gears crank, the ropes pull, and the curtain is raised on the stage they share.

Both Stage Girls stand apart.

Then they charge.

With everything they have, they run to meet one another, swords drawn and ready.

The second of impact resonates with a deafening clash. They strike at one another, again and again, metal scraping metal, sparks flying.

Everything. They pour everything into this fight. Everything they've ever learned in theater and as Stage Girls.

All of the grace, power, and beauty.

All of the skill, speed, and emotion.

All of it. For each other.

They swing. Leap. Dance. Both fueled by an equal passion, but for different reasons.

One to free a blameless prisoner of unjust rules.

And one to remain captive, so that the other may remain free.

They clash, again and again, channeling all of the anguish of their separation into passion for their reunion. Their love is not one that can be understood by just anyone. Their love is engulfed in the shadows of guilt and sin. But it is also bathed in the lights of pride and purity.

It is merely a matter of which is stronger.

They strike, dodge, block.

Again and again.

Running, soaring, twirling.

Blood, sweat, and tears alike fall in their wake, splattering the stage. The hilts of their swords are slick with red, their skin damp with salt, their faces wet with trails of love.

They come together again - and again are pushed apart.

The giraffe spectates from far above, but Claudine pays him no heed. Maya charges her again with a shout. In seconds she's upon her, sword raised. Claudine lifts her weapon to block, but the blow sends her skidding back toward the edge. She digs her blade into the floor to slow and stop herself, her heel just barely missing the edge. With a voice laden with furious desperation, she tries again to bring Maya to her senses.

"There are no co-stars here! No stagehands or crew! You can't have a performance by yourself!" She uses her sword as a crutch and gets back up, refusing to give up on her.

Maya stands unmoving back at center stage, bathed in the red spotlight.

"I did not want you to experience the torment of loss."

Claudine scoffs.

"_Mechante! _Then you shouldn't have left me!" She wrenches her sword from the ground, but doesn't raise it at her again. "I've already experienced that, you idiot! So let's go back, _Ma Maya_-"

A blade comes hissing at her from across the stage. She feels the plunging weight of it pushing mercilessly at her shoulder. The tip pierces the button of her jacket, and it shatters.

Claudine's jacket falls free, and though she tries to gather it again, her hands are shaking too much. It flutters to the floor. More and more crimson spotlights flash on, highlighting her failure for all to see.

"No… _no_-!"

The platform between the two of them splits, pulling them apart once more. Maya stands there solemnly, with that same lifeless look in her eyes as when she'd first pushed Claudine off half a year earlier.

"I sacrificed my life for this performance, this stage. This is my atonement. My fate."

"Maya-"

Maya is pulled back beneath the spiral of falling sand. She lifts her hands to it, and it slips through her fingers like so many hopes and wishes.

"Our dream will not come to be…"

As the final grain falls, so too does a tear.

The spotlights go out.

. . .

. .

.

Claudine opens her eyes and finds herself in a seat in the audience. She is dressed in her school clothes once more. When she reaches behind her head, that blue ribbon is still there. Before her, on a well-lit stage, a performance is going on.

"Eh…?" Her mind feels fuzzy, blurry, like a screen full of static. She remembers this play. "That girl… that must be Claire… and that one is Flora… and those are the goddesses…" She recognizes all of these characters, all of their lines.

But it's strange. They're all being played by the same person. There is only one girl standing on that stage, all alone, changing positions and lines in order to fit each character…

A name comes to her lips. One she could never forget.

"Tendo… Maya…?"

And then Claudine is back on that stage, back in her revue clothes, sword in-hand - reborn.

Maya turns and meets her gaze, gasping softly. Claudine steps forward.

"You… You were imprisoned the entire time, shouldering all our burdens alone, all this time… weren't you?"

Maya's eyes flash with something Claudine can't quite decipher. As Maya takes a step back, Claudine takes another forward.

"Don't worry. All that is over now. Wait for me, my Claire… _Ma Maya_…"

Another step.

Closer. Closer.

To _her_.

"Because I'm going to _take you back!_"

She advances, but Maya has nowhere left to retreat too. She remains frozen in her confusion as Claudine comes for her, projecting her voice across the stage.

""Starlight" is a play where we must part… But I refuse! I _refuse_ that kind of tragic play!" Claudine struts a little faster, covering the devastating distance that separates them. "Ours will be an ending where we can be together! That's the kind of play I want to see!"

Maya's eyes grow wide, fearful.

"Stop!" she cries, staggering back. "If you do that… the stage I have created will be destroyed! Your shine will be stolen from you!"

"Then they can have it!" Claudine shouts. "They can take everything! I don't care about 'shine' or being Top Star or anything else! I've come here for _you!_ They can take everything from me but _you_, Tendo Maya!"

She advances, step by step, not faltering even when the stage becomes an uphill incline. She won't stop. She doesn't.

"Even if my 'shine' is stolen from me, it won't disappear! Every stage I stand upon is mine! No matter how many times I fail, I will be reborn!"

At her words, the shattered button reconstructs itself as if by magic, and the jacket returns to her shoulder as if it had never fallen in the first place.

At last, Claudine stops, just inches away from her partner. She reaches out her hand.

Maya drops her sword.

"C…Claudine…"

The stage around them shifts and crumbles, then begins to rebuild itself however it sees fit. But the two of them aren't separated again. Claudine continues offering her hand.

"Stage Girls are brought to life by the stage. To me, my stage is you, Tendo Maya." Her heart is in her words, supporting them with all the trust and love she harbors. She too, drops her weapon. "Without you, my performance can't begin, or end. Without you, I can't be a Stage Girl. You have to be there, or else it's all meaningless. So please…" She bores her eyes directly into Maya's now, and gazes deep into her soul. "Give me everything you have! _Tendo Maya!_"

Maya blinks, and Claudine watches two more tears fall from her eyes. Maya's hand twitches, but pauses just shy of hers.

"I know this…" she murmurs. "I know this… because it is the same for me,_ Ma Claudine_. You are my stage, my rival, my partner. The only one who can accompany me…" Her voice trembles now, her breath coming out as a stammer. "Ever since the day I met you and we stretched together… I have wanted this. To perform our own "Starlight" together with you." And at last, she reaches out her hand and rests it in hers. "Our own performance. One where we can change the ending however we see fit."

Claudine clasps her fingers around the hand in hers. When she next opens her eyes, they are back in that pink desert, upon a large open stage. There are no curtains; no beginning, no end.

Both she and Maya pull each other's hands, then release. They spin in perfectly-executed steps, matching pace with one another, twirling three, four, five times, beautifully in-sync.

They dance to the ends of the stage, then turn back to the center. They pass each other, and repeat.

When they are farthest apart, both find their swords within their grasp once more. They turn to face one another and raise their blades. Both gems now gleam beneath the faint pale light.

Claudine speaks first.

"Everyone has an equal chance to shine. So through the dance of love, I shall burn more passionately, and soar on freedom's wings higher than anyone else. Second-ranked student of the 99th class - Saijou Claudine!_"_

Maya returns her line.

"The star of love which shines on the moon… Now, gather that outpouring of light and send it to your heart." She lifts her chin with pride. "Head of the 99th class - Tendo Maya! Tonight, I will show you that "shine"!"

And so they advance across that stage, slowly at first, before gathering speed. They race toward one another, swords raised, eyes shining, hearts aflame.

A strike.

A button is cut free.

A jacket falls loose.

Both Stage Girls relinquish their hold on their weapons once and for all, and collapse in each other's arms. Maya's jacket falls to the stage. She has been freed at last.

"Thank you…"

Maya encircles Claudine in her arms, weeping softly into her shoulder. Claudine embraces her even more tightly and cries just as hard.

"You insufferable woman…" she sighs. "The star you attempted to obtain…"

"It was you," Maya whispers. "I don't need an eternal wish... _You_ were the star I was searching for all along, _Ma Claudine._"

Claudine's soul comes alive, encompassed by a blooming, blossoming warmth.

"And you were mine…_ Ma Maya._" She reaches up to the blue ribbon still clinging to her hair. Claudine unties it, then brings it out to reveal it to her. Maya's eyes shimmer with affection.

"All this time… you never forgot about me…"

"Of course I didn't. Just who do you think I am?" Claudine loops her arms around her again. She cards through her brown hair briefly, then ties Maya's ribbon back where it belongs. Maya presses close against her, wishing she could make up for all that time they'd spent apart.

"_Merci… Ma Claudine… Je t'aime…_"

Claudine's heart beats a little faster, a little harder, a little more honestly.

"_Je t'aime, Ma Maya…" _

The sun sets, and the curtain of night blankets them both.

* * *

The next morning, Claudine wakes to find her calendar has somehow been set back six months. Or perhaps, maybe it had never been turned ahead that far in the first place.

She gets dressed, then retreats to her night stand when her cell phone vibrates. She opens up a new message from a familiar number:

'_Are you awake yet, my Sleeping Beauty? If not, I can provide a kiss to wake a princess.' _

Claudine rolls her eyes and types back a response.

_'If you try it, I'll bite you.'_

A moment later she receives three heart emojis.

She exits her dorm room just as the door across the hall opens. Maya steps out, also dressed in her uniform, the blue ribbon in her hair as always.

"Oh, good morning, Saijou-san. Did you sleep well?"

Claudine closes her door and smirks.

"I did. And I received a rather inappropriate wake-up text."

"My, I wonder what that could have been about…?" Maya opens one arm invitingly. Claudine snorts; Maya knows she can't resist. Claudine goes to her and kisses her cheek.

"You're unbelievable, making me do this so early in the morning…"

"And yet you seem so eager."

"Shut up."

Maya chuckles and kisses her cheek in return. She's about to move away, but Claudine huffs, wrapping both arms around her shoulders to keep her near.

"Hold on. I never said I was finished…"

Maya smiles, dipping forward into a slight bow against her.

"I beg your pardon."

Tenderly, she wraps both of her arms around Claudine's waist and the small of her back, pulling her up a little closer. Claudine clings softly to her shoulders, taking in her scent, letting it fill her lungs. Maya receives similar comforts, feeling Claudine's warmth spread across her chest, the beat of her heart thumping steadily.

For a moment they are still. They breathe together, let their pulses dance together in a mutual rhythm.

Claudine lets herself be greedy for a while.

Maya certainly doesn't mind. She waits patiently. She'd give her all the time in the world if Claudine ever asked for it.

Eventually, Claudine eases back, as if she hadn't just spent nearly ten minutes intimately embracing a fellow classmate in the dormitory hallways for all to see.

"So," she says, impressively casual. "Karen and the others are having a hot-pot tonight. Care to join us? I'm bringing crab." She offers her elbow. Maya loops her arm through it and pulls Claudine in close to her side.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The two head down the hallway together, toward the place where their friends are waiting for them, toward a future they'll perform together.

* * *

**A/N: It was kind of tricky to record each line from the episode, but I did it! Though of course I changed what were originally Karen's lines to suit Claudine for this. Her responses are a bit more fiery.**

** I know this idea doesn't really work since Claudine isn't the 'extra' audience-member character that Karen was, but I just did it for the concept of Maya bearing her burden and Claudine fighting to get her back.**

**Recording all the lines from the show really made me realize just how gay it actually was... wow.**

**Please review!**


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